Week 12

What has been the hardest thing? What has been the easiest? If you could start over again what would you do differently? What structure do you plan on using for your final paper? Why do you think that structure will be the best for what you want to do?

The hardest part of this project was finding time to get involved in the group. I wanted to be involved enough that I could get a good sense of what it is like to be a member. The easiest part of the project was probably analyzing my field notes. It was sometimes fun and often entertaining to read what I had quickly wrote in my notes. If I could start over again I would plan to attend more events. I also woul dhave taken more pictures to remember the events. For my final paper I plan to use an order of: AIGA history and background, My background and reason for studying the group, description of community, research questions and then asnwers, and conclusion. I think this structure will work the best beacause it flows well and many people will be able to understand the group.

Groundwork Activity - Language Forms

Part One

• hierarchy
  
• critique
  
• contrast
  
• dpi
  
• design firm
  
• radiation
  
• type family
  
• leading
  
• tracking
  
• kerning
  
• gradation
  
• bristol board
  
• medium
  
• linen tester
• gutter
• margin
• en-dash
• em-dash
• x-height
• descender
• ascender

Part Two

• All of the above
• "less is more"
• "from follows function"

I have designed my informants' language as mostly dialog and drama.

Part Three

• I believe any way I rearrange the words and phrases will represent the nuance of graphic design language. None of the above phrases stand out but I believe I need to find out more about how AIGA can help students in other majors. I believe my informants would agree with the way I have recorded the language. I could serve as a cultural translator by studying the language and actions of a group and relate them to a language everyone can understand.
  

In Class Group

1. Mediums
   
   • Websites - pictures, text, video
     
   • Poster - pictures, text
     
   • Powerpoint - sound, video, text, pictures
     
   • Video - pictures and text
     
   • collage - pictures text
2. Purpose and 3. Rational
   
   • Website - If the group is "digital" and has an online. This would work the best for me.
     
   • Poster - If you are not tech savvy and want to show text and images
   • powerpoint - Separates each picture to be explained and it is more interesting
   • Video - more lively and realstic.
   • Collage - for showing many pictures.
     
3. Rational - Above
4. Pick top two
   
   • Website
   • Powerpoint
     
5. Course Blog Assignment
   
   • http://issuu.com/koekje/docs/design-elements-a-graphic-style-manual
   • http://issuu.com/scarvalho/docs/livro__visualiza__o_online_
   • http://issuu.com/fasett/docs/roxar_annualreport_2008
   • The above are well designed publications which could have been done by members of the AIGA, which is the group I am studying.
     
     
   • http://bighugelabs.com/mosaic.php
   • I could use the above to create a mosaic of the AIGA Logo. The mosaic could include work done by members of the AIGA.
     
     
   • http://martin.glogster.com/test/
   • I could make a poster about the AIGA - the above is a clever poster describing graphic design.
     

Week 9 - Giving Back

For the past few weeks I have spent a good amout of time in the community I am studying. I have learned many new things and have benefited from the group. It is now my turn ti give back.

I have noticed the AIGA doesn't have a very large presence on the internet. With myself having a large experience in web design, I want to help them with that. I have joined the communication committee and have volunteered to help out with the website and blog. I hope to have a well done website by the end of this semester.

As for our class, I believe they can benefit from know about AIGA also. Graphic designs is a large art of everyone's lives, especially on the internet. Some majors are closely related to graphic design and can benefit form the topics discussed at the meetings. I believe majors such as architecture, interior design, fashion, and many more could benefit from the AIGA meetings.

AIGA has helped me also. I have been able to communicate with many professionals in the industry. I have also been able to show my current school work to many upperclassman. This review by the upper classmen has often resulted in my work receiving a high grade.

Box 25 - Jargon

• hierarchy - A clear understanding of which items in a design are most important and which are not.
  
• critique - a review of a work with a two or more people.
  
• contrast - difference between elements in design
  
• dpi - dots per inch,
  
• design firm - a company that designs and creates items such as logos, corporate identity, business cards, websites, etc.
  
• radiation - in design, objects coming from a single point.
  
• type family - also know as font, a design of type including all styles and sizes
  
• leading - the space between lines of text
  
• tracking - the space between a set of two or more letters
  
• kerning - the space between a pair of letters
  
• gradation - a gradual change often shown with tint, opacity, size, weight, ect.
  
• bristol board - a 100lb white medium
  
• medium - something a design is made on. Could be paper, canvas, wood, etc.
  
• linen tester - similar to a magnifying glass, this instrument is used when working with small detail and exact measurements.
• gutter - the space between columns.
• margin - the space from the outside edge of a document to its workable area.
• en-dash - a dash the width of a lowercase n.
• em-dash - a dash the width of a lowercase m.
• x-height - height of a lowercase x.
• descender - characters that extend below the baseline. ex: ygjp
• ascender - characters that extend above the mean line ex: tifbdjhkl
  

Week 7 - Planning

The exercise we completed in class has helped me organize and schedule when I am going to complete the rest of this project. I have already spent a good amount of time with my group with three field notes. There are a few more meetings and other AIGA events I can attend to gather even more information. I plan to conduct my interview in week 11 and I already have an idea of the person I will interview. I need to spend some time looking for library sources and sources other than my field notes. With the library sources I need to find examples of how the AIGA group has benefited a person weather they are in a graphic design major or not. Then I need to get a start on my literature review and finally a draft for the final project.

Week 8:Field Note #4 on Tuesday’s AIGA meeting, finalize 3-4 sources for lit review, daft lit review.
Week 9: (Research Proposal Due), finalize lit review
Week 10:Field Note #5 at AIGA meeting, finalize questions for interview
Week 11: Interview, review all field notes so far
Week 12: Field Note #6 at AIGA, review and finalize library sources
Week 13: Write draft of final project
Week 14: (Draft of both final projects 2 for Peer Review Tuesday) (Project 3 due Thursday)
Week 15: Project 4 Due Tuesday. Presentations Tuesday and Thursday.

Box 18 - Focal Point

With the internet as large as it is today, almost all student groups should have a website with at least their basic up-to-date information. Graphic design is a large part of web design and I find a contradiction in the fact that the KSU AIGA student group has not updated their website since 2004! It is now 2009. I realized after attending several meetings that they are in the process of doing so but it should be done at least every year. I believe this is one reason the group is so small. The group needs to have a greater online presence to attract the college age group. Its one thing if a sports group hasn't update their site but graphic designers, one of the main jobs in web design, has not updated their website.

Box 17

The type studio. This is the workshop where AIGA meets. The ceiling of this room is open to two floors of the building. The empty space of this room is filled with several old printing presses. There are many drafting tables with stools. The free standing wall has a tack board for putting up different student work for critiques. The stairs are a spiral stair case that goes to the second level directly into the room. There are several small storage rooms and other class rooms that are off of this large room.

Box 16

Many student groups meet in a place that makes sense for that group. In the case of AIGA, we meet in the university art building. The art building is uniquely designed and is unlike any other building on campus. From the outside one can see the building was designed by a architect with distinct style. The entire out side of the building seems to be covered in fiberglass. This gives the building a translucent look. The roof is very asymmetric with many different contours and levels. The roof is translucent which lets a lot of light into the building. The lighting on the outside of the building is also very different than any other building on campus and goes with the design of the building well. There are various sculptures and earthworks scattered around the building. Some were by students and some were by visiting famous artists.

Walking into the building's main entrance one will find the first thing they see is a gallery. The gallery is always filled with a senior project, faculty work, etc. and is always changing. In the lobby area there are also displays of some the best student work for that week. There are several levels to the art building all uniquie to the others and sometimes confusing and get new comers lost. The art building also has its own certified Apple store. Since 99 percent of students in the art building own Apple computers this is a great item to have in the building.

Down one level in a large typesetting workshop is where the AIGA group meets. The room is full of drafting tables and old letter presses, along with many lead type sets and characters. There is not a better place for the AIGA, the grapic designers organization, to meet.

Week 6 - Conclusions

I have been attending AIGA meetings for the past year and part of this year. In doing so I have been able to come up with a few conclusions about the group:

1. AIGA likes to go on trips to visit different printing presses and design facilities.
2. There are some really good designers in the group and some that are just starting out.
3. The group is much more organized this year than last because of the new professor leader.
4. Most people in the group like to design using a computer.
5. 99.9% of the people in the group own a Mac laptop.

If I were to go observe another student AIGA group I believe most of the meetings would be similar to Kent State's. I could be wrong though, some of the other AIGA student groups have better websites which may mean they might be more organized than we are. I believe that other groups would visit similar printing facilities and design firms and also host similar events on campus.

Online Artifact

http://aigaksu.tumblr.com/

1. What surprised me? - I was surprised to see that the KSU AIGA website hasn't been updated since 2004. You would think as a much as graphic design is involved with the web they would have had a more updated website.

2. What intrigued me? - I was intrigued to find that the group leaders offer mentoring on Sunday evenings for two hours. This is really good for students in the VCD major at kent state university. A lot of times I will want to get some feedback on a project before I turn it in.

3. What disturbed me? - There isn't really anything disturbing about this online artifact from the group. Just the fact that their website wasn't updated.

Groundwork Activity Questions

First - In the student group of AIGA I must take care in the fact that they are trying create a network of graphic designers. Even though I am an insider I still need to consider the way I act around the group. Many members may be annoyed that I am taking detailed notes about the group. I will have to politely explain to them the reason I am taking the field notes. I will most likely do things and activities in the way th group want me to.

Second -

1. When did the group start at Kent State University?
2. What is the primary goal of AIGA?
3. What are the benefits of becoming a member of AIGA.
4. Do you have to be a graphic designer or graphic design student to become a member of the organization?
5. What is the most exciting event or activity you have been involved in with AIGA?
6. Have you personally won any of the design contests that AIGA has sponsored?

Third - AIGA is not like many of the other student cultures that have a stick code of conduct or secret rituals to follow. It is a very laid back atmosphere. To get the most out of the group it is best to get involved with a part of running the group. For example there are jobs in communication such as the AIGA twitter, website, and blog. There also job is outreach and finding students who want to get involved in the group. An outsider would need to know basic knowledge of graphic design to understand much of what is discussed in the meetings. The outsider would need to be polite to other group members and would need to get involved in one or more parts of the group.

Box 12 - Unlearning Our Privilege

Over the last academic year and the beginning of this year I have attended many AIGA meetings. There are very few issues that would make me under privileged in the group. All of age, nationality, gender, skin color, race, ethnicity, and religion do not affect how the groupd treats them. There are other things that may give you more power in the group. If you are an upper class man with much higher education and experience, you are looked up to as a leader in the group. I may have power in the group because of my past in web design and years of experience in the fields. I am already on the list to help out with the web site. Social support may have a small effect on a persons experience in the group. The more people the person knows in the group, the more chances they may have to share ideas and opinions.

As I study the group I do want to find out more about where the power lies and how privilege affects that power. Since the group is not as controversial as other groups there are not many biased opinions in the group about things. Most opinions are spoken only only small detail such as meeting time, t-shirt designs, guest speakers, restaurants to eat at etc.

Week 5 - Blog Post

So far for this project my main source of information has been my past knowledge of the group and my field notes. My fields nots have provided very good, detailed information on what the AIGA organization does and wants to do in the future. I have done a small amount of online research. The AIGA website provides some about information and a lot of information about the current community and their events. I have also done some research in the academic libraries and have found some articles written about AIGA. I have found a lot of good information so far but my research is not complete and need more answers. I am still looking for some information on how the group started. I also want to get some first hand experience on how AIGA has helped to make someone into a successful design.

Box 9

The first thing that came to mind after reading Mama's Day was an old movie called "The Beverly Hillbillies". It reminded me of this because of a similar plot where a big company wants to pay off the family for the land. The main difference in the Beverly Hillbillies is that they actually take the money and move to Beverly Hills. There were definately parts of this I didn't understand and had to stop and think about them. I was entertained with the language they used even though it was hard to understand at times. I was surprised to find out about Hilton Head. That is a very popular resort spot still today. I thought there were some part where I was completely lost and began to then lose interest in the story.

When I reread the story, I gained a much better understanding of what the story was about. It took a few times through one section to understand the 18 & 23 but I realized it after Reema's boy had figured out that is was actually 81 & 23 which were the coordinates of Willow Springs. One of the most interesting characters was Reema's boy. He was very different from the group he grew up with. He sounded like he was a professional business man and had some education and common sense. My second favorite was the narrator. The narrator was interesting because of the mystery or who he or she was. For some reason I had the idea that the setting was in the country near a shore. I had imagine this because of the various companies that were interested in their land.

Box 6

Observation of the bathroom sink.

9-22 The bathroom sink is white. There are a few small pieces of hair in the bottom. There is some evidence of tooth paste in the sink. The faucet is fairly shiny but has slight residue. The caulking is a bit dirty.	The small pieces of hair are from when I shaved earlier. I usually try to wash them all out but I may have missed some today. The same goes for the tooth paste. I usually try to wash it all out.
9-23 The sink faucet is silver. There are separate controls for hot and cold. The controls have a slight cross shape to them. Each have a colored outline towards the top. One red and on blue.	I focused on the actual faucet today. There was not much change in the look of the entire sink between yesterday and today.
9-24 The sink basin is white. There is an indentation around the oval top. There are also two identical approx 3x2inch indentations on both sides of the faucet. There are to small circle holes on the back of the inside on the sink basin.	I focused on the sink basin today. The indentation on top is most likely to keep water in the sink. The two identical indentations are for placing soap. The two small holes are overflow drains.
9-25 Today there are some small bits of coarse hair around the basin of the sink. Some of them are different sizes.	These small bits of hair are most likely from someone shaving and not cleaning the sink out well.
9-26 The small bits of hair are gone today. Everything on the sink is fairly clean today except for one small toothpaste leftover.	We usually keep things fairly clean around here so someone must have cleaned the sink yesterday or this morning and then brushed their teeth.
9-27 In the bottom of the inside of the sink there is the drain. The drain is chrome. There is a cylindrical piece in the drain that moves up or down depending on the position of the lever on the faucet. If i pull the lever the cylinder goes down. If I push the lever the cylinder comes up.	The cylinder in the drains controls the water flow and a level on the faucet controls the position of that lever. When the cylinder is down completely, all the water will stay in the sink.
9-28 Today there are fresh soap bubbles in the sink. The sink also has a slight shine to it. I can faintly smell a slight soap smell.	The reason for the fresh soap bubbles, the slight shine, and the aroma is most likely because some just washed their hands.

Box 8

All through high school I was very involved in the web design industry. I worked as a web developer in the IT department of a branch or the Ohio State University. When the time for college came around I decided on the Visual Communication and Design major with a minor in Web Design and Programming at Kent State University. Kent Has a student chapter of the American Institute of the Graphic Arts (AIGA). After attending all last year, I want to study this group as my subject for this ethnography.

What surprised me?
Upon arrival to the first meeting of this semester I found it surprising that the group was much more organized than last year. They had the group meet as a whole to discuss general events and information. Then the group broke into smaller groups. Each group had an upperclassmen leader. I was also surprised to find the number of students in the group had increased and there was also a student leader.

What intrigued me?
Although it was surprising to see the group more organized it also intrigued me. When we separated into smaller groups, I joined the communication meeting. A major topic of the communication group was the redesign of the Kent AIGA website. This intrigued me because of my interest in Web design.

What disturbed me?
There wasn't really anything that disturbed me. I was a little upset that they had change the mentoring sessions to a time when it was impossible for me to come. I was also somewhat upset that they scrapped the blog I designed last year and post o a new one on a completely different platform.

Week 4 - Academic Sources

Academic sources are a very important part of academic writing and research. An academic source is a piece of information such as an essay or article the comes from a trusted location such as an educational website (.edu), a scholarly journal, or most books. There is a good reason for instructors wanting us to use these as sources. One is for the fact that they are accurate. There is a lot of inaccurate and misleading information out there that would not be good to use in a research paper. Two is to learn how to properly find real and trusted information. There are some situations you could use non-academic sources. Yo could use them in blog posts, comedy, fiction stories, and many more. In my experience I would consider an academic source information that is backed or written by someone who has a degree in the field of research they are presenting. Therefore non-academic sources would be from places such as wikipedia, where almost anyone can edit the information, or websites that don't claim any affiliation with a university. In the assignment we are currently working on, I could look at the non-academic sources for information such as stereotypes of graphic designers, events and contest for graphic and other small details I would not fond in an academic resource.

Week 3 - Research Site

After some considering and narrowing down my options I have chosen the AIGA student group as my area of study for this project. AIGA stands for the American Institute of Graphic Artists. It is a student and professional organization for graphic artists to network and communicate on topics about design. I am researching this site because of its involvement with my major (Visual Communication and Design) and also because of my interest and experience in web design. If I were to stop someone walking down the street and ask them about the group they would probably be somewhat interested. Most people don't realize how big a part graphic designers play in there every day life. I would how them any sign or website and tell them that without a graphic designer that sign or billboard would not be interesting and would not catch any attention. Saying this would probably start a conversation about where else graphic designers are involved.

Week 2 - Topic Exploration

As I begin my exploration for a topic there are many factors that I will help me narrow down my choices for the final research topic. Some of the factors include: my interest, my current job, my major, and also meeting time. Between these factors I will be able to choose the best area to study. In this list of factors the most important to me is my interests. If I choose something that I have interest in, it will lead to a better written research paper. After that factor next would be my major, my job then meeting time. In my research I am looking to learn something I can use almost every day for the rest of my life. That is why interest and major are the most important on my list. If I choose something with in my interest or major it will probably be something that will be a big part of my future career. My current list is: web design (AIGA), music and radio (Black Squirrel Radio), and church and worship (H2O Church Kent). With my interest in computers and web design, my major in Visual Communication and Design, and my job at a web design company I will most likely choose AIGA as my research site.

6 Word Memoir

Graphic Designers, we make things better.

Box 3

The swine flu has been a main concern around Kent's campus and recently the student health culture speaks out against ways to protect themselves from getting this life threatening illness. To gain more information on this culture one may ask the following questions:
What are some of the symptoms?
Is there a vaccine?
Are students scared?
And, What are ways to protect yourself?
Students perspectives are different than one who is writing strictly for news content, field workers are focused more on gaining public information and opinions rather than facts and figures.
The student input is not the only resource used for a field researcher, other credible sources would be doctors, other campus health services who have experienced this phenomenon, and news articles.
The internet is the easiest and most accurate way to gain information on symptoms and doctors knowledge with out going directly to a doctor. However to get information from students and to gain opinions the most reliable information is gained through interviews because the information is better gained through an interpersonal experience.

http://media.www.kentnewsnet.com/media/storage/paper867/news/2009/09/14/News/Students.Speak.Out.On.Swine.Flu-3770222.shtml

Box 11

There are some factors that may affect what I see at the field site. I would like to study the subculture of AIGA. AIGA is a student organization of graphic designers, that discuss new and old design techniques and tools and also attend various design events and tours. With my major being visual communication and design, I have been involved with this organization in the past. I also work for a web design company. With both of these factors, I will have to study the group in a different way. I will have to come to the meetings with the thought of being a person who doesn't know anything in the field. This will help with the details that I would usually miss if I just attended as myself. This organization only meets once every other week for approx 45 min. This will good also because I spend most of my time working on projects for classes.

On the other hand I will enjoy attending the groups meetings because the topics are interesting and very helpful in my major and field of work. I will also meet people in this group that have similar interests as I and will be good connections to have in later business and school questions.

Box 2

When I am doing homework or working I like to listen to music. I pull out my rectangle contraption, that only has one button. Into this contraption I may plug in little buds that I stuff into my ears. From these little buds I will hear sound. If I want a much louder sound. I may plug my rectangle contraption into large box. To play the music I press the single button on my rectangle box. The entire front plate lights up with 3d-looking animated buttons. I press one of the buttons that has a music note. This brings up an animated list of all the music on the rectangle contraption. It's crazy how they stuff all these musicians into this box. There's got to be close to 40 different musicians in there. I select the musician I want and also the song. All of a sudden I hear the music playing out of either the buds I stuffed into my ears or the large box. Then I proceed with my homework or work.

Student Groups

• AIGA - American Institute for Graphic Arts
• Black Squirrel Radio
• H2O Church Kent
• American Marketing Association
• TV2
• Kent News Net
  

5 Subcultures

Web Designers

• Group - computer savvy people, graphic designers, programmers,
  
• Rituals - building and maintaining web sites, writing code, working with clients, fixing bugs
• Insider Phrases - error log, php, ajax calls, zend framework, mvc, syntax
• Behaviors - usually sit at a computer most of the day. Person can have a wide range of behaviors

Christians

• Group - people associated with the church, small group
  
• Rituals - church, small groups, prayer, worship
• Insider Phrases - messages, prayer, savior, worship, bible, verse, serving
  
• Behaviors - often very nice, high morals, sacrifices for other, giving

Drummers

• Group - musicians, people who have good beat
• Rituals - often practice, playing drums, listening to drum parts in different songs, tuning drum set, study different styles of drumming
• Insider phrases - drum stick, cymbals, heads, toms, lugs, snare
• Behaviors - loud, energetic,
  

DJs

• Group - People who like music, people who have good beat
• Rituals - study new music, beat matching, playing music for other people at events
• Insider phrases - mixer, speakers, beat matching, remix, dB level, microphone, sub,
• Behaviors - Able to entertain, out going, always listen to music

Skiers

• Group - people who like snow, people who like to ski
• Rituals - going to a ski resort and skiing down the slopes
• Insider Phrases - slope, binding, edge, poles, gates, moguls, black diamonds
• Behaviors - very wide range

Response for Web Designers
I belong to many different subcultures. A few are Web Designers, Christians, Drummers, DJs, and Skiers.

A web designer is a person who builds and maintains a website. Learning to build a website is largely self taught. A person may spend a lot of time learning the basics and receiving a college degree but with technology changing rapidly, web designers have to constantly learn new things. It is not uncommon to find a web designer working from home. For the most part, the only thing a web designer needs is a computer with necessary software, an internet connection, and the necessary knowledge to build a web site.

In larger companies the task for web design a usually split up. They are often divided between programmers and designers. The programmer would focus more on code and database integration and the designer would focus on the design, look and overall navigation of the site. In smaller companies both programming and designing may be done by the same person. Web designers may work for either a web design firm, with an in-house design team, or may be self employed. Overall web with technology advancing and becoming a large part of people's lives, web design is a very good sub culture to take interest.